Welcome to the 1st post in what will become a regular series. Our good friend Gavin A Go Go is a serious fanatic about all things horror so it seemed like a good idea to get him to put his ghoulish knowledge to good use and share some of his thoughts on a wide range of horror classics.

ANY film that opens with a disclaimer offering to pay for funerals if the viewer dies as a result of the films frightening climax, while onscreen a coffin lid opens and inside lays a card reading “Reserved For You”; I’m sold. A classic fright gimmick, such as those of William Castle and I can’t wait for the film to get going.

And this one didn’t fail! A traditional tale of a newly married couple who move in to a house where the husband used to live with his previous and now dead wife (Mysterious accident), then bad things start to happen. Text book.

Jenni (the current wife) who has a history of mental illness (both her parents tragically died) starts to have visions of skulls. Obviously everyone thinks she is going crackers again and that the gardener, who was obsessed with the late wife that is also apparently a spitting image of Jenni’s mother is playing tricks on Jenni, or is he? Oooooooh.

When this film came out it was panned by critics and some of it’s creators. I loved it. As I said its a classic tale which still gets used, like in Candyman. Ok so the overall film is very different, but it still has the same backbone story. I also believe it was the blueprint of more recent blockbusters such as Insidious and The Conjuring, both of which I disliked, but I thought this was great. Yeah the special effects are pretty shoddy (see the skull on the stairs haha), but it was the 50’s and personally I wouldn’t have it any other way.

As the film was made in 1958 there is not much in the way of Merch (trust me I have looked) but what is available is this brilliant classic movie image Screaming Skull T-Shirt which inspired me to watch this flick and also features the promise of a free burial if you die of fright during THE SCREAMING SKULL!!!